If money was not a constraint, what would you do differently in the next five to 10 years?

That’s the question Softbank’s investment professionals pose to CEOs before they write a check from their mammoth $100 billion Vision Fund. The Japanese behemoth has poured billions into some of business’ biggest deals, including Uber, ARM Holdings, Nvidia, WeWork, DoorDash, GM Cruise, Katerra, and Wag. [ Fortune ]

US female-founded companies have raised $7B so far this year

In a year poised to bring in the most venture capital investment for US startups since the dot-com boom, female founders are also experiencing VC highs.

In the first six months of 2018, US companies with at least one female founderbrought in $7.2 billion in venture capital funding, about 12.5% of all VC collected so far this year, per PitchBook data. That $7.2 billion includes four rounds of at least $100 million: Tmunity's $135 million financing, Twist Bioscience's $125 million round, and a pair of $100 million
fundings for wedding planning startup Zola and office catering service ezCater. [ PitchBook ]

Silicon Valley needs to figure out how to promote women and people of color. Andreessen Horowitz is doing that by changing one of its founding rules.

During its first decade of existence, Andreessen Horowitz — one of Silicon Valley’s premier venture capital firms — held fast to a seemingly minor rule about the types of people who comprised its top investors: To become a general partner, you had to have founded or led a company as CEO. No exceptions.

But amid the broader conversation nationally — and in Silicon Valley specifically — about gender diversity, the firm earlier this year quietly scrapped
a rule that its critics said, unintentionally or not, made front-of-the-pack partnerships like Andreessen Horowitz’s just a collection of (mostly white) guys. [ Recode ]

Ultimate Software is acquiring PeopleDoc for $300 million

Public company Ultimate Software is acquiring French startup PeopleDoc for $300 million in cash and stock. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018.
These two companies both make HR solutions.

Ultimate Software has been around for a while. It went public in 1998 and switched to a software-as-a-service solution in 2002 — this solution is called UltiPro. It lets you manage all things HR, from payroll to benefits, time management, onboarding, performance management and more. [ Tech Crunch ]

$800 Million Says a Self-Driving Car Looks Like This

The mystery box sits inside an all-white room in an office building in San Francisco. It’s a large, wooden crate with no features other than the word “ZOOX” in big, black block letters and a sturdy-looking padlock. For about $100 million, you can get a key and have a look inside.

Few have had the pleasure. What they saw is a black, carlike robot about the size and shape of a Mini Cooper. Or actually, like the rear halves of two Mini Coopers welded together.
The interior has no steering wheel or dashboard, just an open space with two bench seats facing each other. The whole mock-up looks like someone could punch a hole through it. But because you’ve just invested $100 million in the thing, you’ve earned the right to have a seat and enjoy a simulated city tour while you pray that this vision of a driverless future will come to pass. [ Bloomberg ]

China's Didi is said to plan spin off of car services unit in deal worth up to $1.5 billion

Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co Ltd is planning to spin off its car services unit in a deal worth up to $1.5 billion ahead of the parent company's planned initial public offering, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. [ CNBC ]